[giordun]

Does the iPod line out have better sound that some of those Sony players and the D2?

 

[ZARIM]

To me iPod classic 160GB line-out sound quality is supperior(if use with high end cable and AMPs) than Sony new walkman series and D2.

 

[montell]

No. And unless someone prove me wrong I will always assume that the ipods lineout is the same as its headphone.

This is based on various sources (bangraman, avtalk) and my experience with sony md players.

 

[Leroy Jenkems]

I have a Cowon D2 and my friend has an iPod Touch. His touch sounds a lot clearer than my d2 in his car and his speaker

 

[Assorted]

There were some graphs showing a measurable difference in bass output from the iPod's line-out compared to its headphone out.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

The headphone out is not the same as the line out. In my car, big difference. The line out carries much more audio information. the sound is much clearer. and you dont have to deal with the volume control.

 

[Nocturnal310]

by Lineout do u mean bypassing the headphone jack & using a proprietory dock cable?

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

martell with all due respect what have Sony players and your experience with them got to do with sound from the line out on apple players?
Line out sounds vastly superior due to fact that passes the internal amplifier of the iPod/iPhone and allows you to choose which amp suits your needs best!
At a pinch could see that an argument for cables, although I believe they do, not making any difference might hold up here but even apple haters subscribe to the line out giving a much better output and signal than headphone out!

 

[montell]

Thats just an old fairy tale thats being going around for years on these forums. Its a myth.

And my experience with sony md players has everything to do with it. Because the ipod uses the exact same mechanics. The lineout is basicly the headphone out minus volume controle and the volume is set at a certain value to optimize the signal. That is exactly how sony md players work too. The only difference? Sony md players have a switch in one of the menus to convert the HPO into a LO or vice versa. Ipods on the other hand have a seperate HPO and LO.

If you think the lineout would somehow bypass the internal amplifier then why dont you show me the blueprint of the pathway it takes from DAC to LO and compare that to the pathway DAC-HPO. Or why dont you explain to me why people would still imod their ipods if the LO is a true unmodified sound signal.

Look you dont have to believe me but atleast educate yourself. You are just repeating others.

 

[Nocturnal310]

thats what i thought...if it totally bypassed the inbuilt Amp then it will also need a DAC chip rite?

and then an Amp to follow with.

it just carries a weak un-deteoriated signal.

but even after that do u think re-amplifying the Signal will improve final SQ?

 

[G-man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif thats what i thought...if it totally bypassed the inbuilt Amp then it will also need a DAC chip rite? and then an Amp to follow with. it just carries a weak un-deteoriated signal. but even after that do u think re-amplifying the Signal will improve final SQ?

no, it would not need a DAC, IF it by passed, because theoretically you would go straight from the internal DAC to the LO.

 

[Nocturnal310]

oh yeah..


so you are just bypassing the internal amp of ipod.....and then replacing it with amp of your choice.

one question: HOW big a difference does it make in perceivable SQ?

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif \one question: HOW big a difference does it make in perceivable SQ?

That depends on the headphones you use, because the sound quality difference isn't because you are bypassing the amp in the iPod, it's because your amped signal matches the impedance of your headphones better.

With smaller, portable headphones there will be no difference at all. With large, home stereo cans, there will be a difference, but not anything "night and day".

The various generations of iPods are different in the headphone output too. A 3G is more likely to require amping than a 6G classic. The newer the iPod, the less reason to amp it.

See ya
Steve

 

[Logistics]

Quote:

Originally Posted by montell /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you think the lineout would somehow bypass the internal amplifier then why dont you show me the blueprint of the pathway it takes from DAC to LO and compare that to the pathway DAC-HPO.

Why don't you show him to prove your own point?

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by montell /img/forum/go_quote.gif No. And unless someone prove me wrong I will always assume that the ipods lineout is the same as its headphone.

I have done direct comparisons between line-out and headphone out on my
5G with a switch box and being able to do very rapid switching - can even have both in circuit and cut them out one by one. In my setup Apart from a very very small level difference ( the line out is a tad louder, I checked that it wasnt the cables by swapping them as well) they are indistinguishable, there is cerainly no fundamental difference. In the interest of science I will record the output from both and analyse the spectra.

EDIT: Well blow me down. I was wrong - the headphone out is in fact louder at full whack not the line-out, spectrally however they are extremely similar, viz there are no big differences between the Frequency responses but the level differences are big enough to make the two easily ABXable - I just did it...




Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif There were some graphs showing a measurable difference in bass output from the iPod's line-out compared to its headphone out.

I would like to see this, genuinely, can you hunt it out ?


Quote:

Originally Posted by Keithpgdrb /img/forum/go_quote.gif The headphone out is not the same as the line out. In my car, big difference. The line out carries much more audio information. the sound is much clearer. and you dont have to deal with the volume control.

For me the Line-out is slightly louder on my 5G I agee on that.